When I'm Gone
by Nikki14u
Summary: Deals with Chris's death and how each member of the family takes it. With a shocking ending. The Story is now complete! Please read and review
1. The Pain of Letting Go

**Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of it's characters**.

As Chris lay across his mother's bed, he couldn't help but remember all the happy times he and his brother had spent in that very room as small children. He remembered all the laughs and warm smiles they would share, along with their aunts and their mother. How he missed those days. His heart ached for his brother. Not the evil tyrant that he is now, but as his protector that he had loved so much once upon a time.

Chris slightly smiled to himself as his mind flashed back to the day a few of the jocks at school had decided to rough him up. He wasn't sure if it was the teasing or the sight of his younger brother on the ground that made Wyatt so angry. But his bother was not too pleased, to say the least. Bodies when flying everywhere and hateful words and threats filled the air. There was no way anyone was going to get away with hurting him with Wyatt around. And from that day on, no one so much as looked in Chris's direction for fear of what may happen next. His memory was interrupted by the constant pain coming for his abdomen as well as the cries of his father. Begging him to stay but as much as he wanted to, he knew that it was not an option.

He could feel himself being pulled further and further away. He to tell his father not to cry, that he loved him, and that everything will be alright. He wanted to stay and continue to fight for his family and to be strong when they couldn't. He griped the sheet of his mother's bed, trying desperately to hold on, not wanted to let go of the family he loved and longed for. Chris wished he could tell them everything warn, them about the signs in case he didn't succeed. But the darkness overtook him.

As he drew his final breaths, his remaining thoughts went to his mother and his brother. Oh how he wished that he could see them one last time. Hoping that he accomplished what he had given up so much for. Saving his brother and giving his mother a more peaceful, happier and longer life. She always called him her little hero; he just hoped that he didn't let her down this time.  
Chris could fill himself begin to float and the pain began to fade. As he looked down on his grieving father and aunt he silently wished them well and said his final good-bye. But something wasn't right. All of a sudden he felt as if someone was shaking him and willing him to awake. He instantly recognized the voice. "Mom" he whispered.

So what do you think? This is my first fic, so please go easy on me. LOL hope you enjoyed.

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	2. Telling Her

Chapter 2

He opened his eyes and noticed that he was now standing instead of laying down. The wound that had caused the man immense pain just a few seconds ago was no longer existent. Upon further inspection the boy realized that he was not alone. His mother sat on the bed with tears flowing down her face while breathing heavily as Leo knelt down in front of her. Immediately the boy saw that the woman was no longer pregnant, which caused him to panic.

"Mom, what's wrong?" he asked in a soft tone as he approached the bed, but there was no response.

It was as if they didn't hear or see him. Then the painful truth hit him like a ton of bricks as he looked down at his faded form.

"NO" he whispered. Looking at his father the boy pleaded "Dad please don't tell her. Mom doesn't need to know, please Dad, STOP!" He screamed at the man, but again there was no answer. Chris watched with saddened eyes as his father broke the news of his death to his mother.

The woman instantly grabbed the sheet on her bed, holding on to them for dear life as if they were the boy that she had lost. She now spoke almost inaudibly through her cries

"This can't be happening. No, my baby can't be dead, he just can't. No, this is all some sick joke and he's really back in his future or he's trying to find a potion that will take him back home. Right Leo?"

After a slight pause she spoke up again

"Damn it answer me! Look me in the eye right now and tell me that you're lying!"

Her husband was only able to let out a muffled "I'm so sorry honey" before his body jerked violently as he allowed his own tears to fall.

"Fine, if you won't tell me what's going on then I'll call Chris and he can tell me."

The boy wanted so badly to hold his mother and tell her that he was ok, but fate was a cruel foe that wouldn't cooperate. Looking up the woman called out for her child

"CHRIS! CHRIS! I know you can hear me, you get your ass down here right now!" A few seconds past and the woman wouldn't give up even though her head told her too, her heart simply wouldn't comply.

"CHRIS!" she now said in a pleading voice. "Honey please come to me. Please sweetie, Mommy needs you, please Chris" but again the mother's cries for her son went unanswered.

At that point she buried her face in her hands and let out one more cry for her baby boy "Please honey, come back home"

Leo couldn't stand it any longer.

"Piper, I tried to bring him back to us, but there was nothing I could do. I'm so sorry honey. I would give anything to have the older version here with us, but it's impossible. The only thing we can do for him right now is let that baby sleeping in that crib know how much we love him."

"It's not the same Leo; I want my little boy back."

"Me too sweetheart, me too" the man said as he once again laid his head in his wife's lap and cried.

The scene ripped Chris's heart into pieces. He wanted so badly to tell his parents that he loved them and to let his father know that his death wasn't his fault. He suffered in silence as he watched the two peopled that he loved more than anything in the world cry until they no longer had the energy. It overwhelmed him to the point where the only thing he could do was sink down to the ground next to his father. He then took the man's hand into his own and laid his head on that small space that was left on his mother's lap. He only wished that the two could feel their little boy's presences.

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	3. Paige's Pain

Chapter 3

Chris watched on intently as his parents lay sleeping in each others arms. He felt so sorry for the couple and what he had put them through during this past year. If only he had done a better job of hiding who he was then they wouldn't be in so much pain. The Halliwell's just would have thought of him as an annoying little whitelighter who may have helped them save their precious Wyatt, instead they were forced to mourn the death of their son.

It hurt him to know that the tears that fell from their eyes were for him rather than happy tears that should have been shed for their little boy who slept soundly in the next room. Believing that the painful outburst he witnessed was over for the night, Chris went to sit on the couch beside his mother's bed when suddenly he noticed that his surroundings had changed.

He now stood in the middle of his Aunt Paige's room. He knew that it had been especially difficult for her since she was one of the two people who actually saw him die. Chris watched as the woman held onto something with a tight grip to her heart as the tears continued to roll down her face. After a short while the woman removed the object from her chest and began to stare at it with great intensity. His curiosity got the best of him as he made his way closer to the woman so he could view what it was that held her attention. As he stood next to the woman he was able to fully see her captivator, it was a picture of her dearly departed nephew.

Paige had secretly snapped the photo at Wyatt's birthday party while he was playing with the boy. Chris continued to watch the scene as the woman slowly moved her finger over the photograph tracing along every one of her nephews features.

"I'm so sorry sweetie" she whispered. "If only I had gotten here sooner, I may have been able to save you from that monster" she screamed jumping to her feet.

"Ouch! What the hell?" Looking down she spotted one of baby Chris's toys. That's when she lost it.

"Damn you all!" she shouted up to the heavens. "Nothing about this is right. He risked his life for his family and everyone else only to be killed on his birthday by one of YOU! If any of you jerks had any decency or appreciation for anything that he did or for what we do, then you'll bring him back to us right NOW!"

The woman waited a few minutes before giving up and crawling into a fetal position on her bedroom floor.

"Why is this happening?" the boy shouted.

Not only was his life a living hell but now he was forced to watch the ones that he loved suffer to. He almost wished that he was back in the evil future with his psychotic brother instead of witnessing the pain and misery that his family was enduring. But there was something else about all of this that he didn't get either. Why the hell couldn't his family see him? They were witches for God's sake. They saw ghost all the time, what was so different about his situation?

Calming himself he sat down on the floor next to where his aunt lay in a exhaustion educed slumber. He then spoke in a soft tone "I know that you can't hear me Aunt Paige, but I promise you that everything will get better in time. I swear."

He wanted so badly to console her the way that she used to do for him when he was a small child, but unfortunately she could not hear his words or find comfort in his arms. So he did the only thing that he could, he laid a hand on the woman's head and hoped that she could feel him there.


	4. Phoebe's Thoughts

Chapter 4

Chris sat surrounded by the darkness of the night as his Aunt still lay sleeping next to him. He could hear her woman mumbling something incoherently as she rolled over. All the while he wondered why he was still in the manor and hadn't moved on yet. Had this all been some form of torture or something? But before he could ponder anything further he felt himself being taken to yet another location. Maybe I'm finally moving on, he thought as he allowed the invisible guide to take him to his next destination. As Chris reformed he was able to take in his new location in its entirety.

"Oh no" he said as realized where he was. It wasn't the after life like he had hoped but rather another room in the Halliwell manor and sitting right next to him was his Aunt Phoebe.

The woman was curled up on the couch with only the light of the fire place to contrast the darkness that fell upon the rest of the family room. Chris noticed that she was wrapped in the blanket that he used during his stay in the past. Phoebe held it to her nose as she breathed in heavily as if trying to take in every little bit of scent that the boy had left. Chris tried desperately to pick himself off of the couch and avoid what was to follow. But some powerful force was holding him firmly in place. Knowing full well that he was fighting a losing battle, he sat back and waited for the tears to fall. Unfortunately he didn't have to wait long. But unlike the others who screamed and yelled out in pain and anger, the woman had chosen to cry silent tears. As she looked into the flames a slight smile crept across her face. Chris was happy to see that at least Phoebe could see through the sadness and have good thoughts of him. He just wondered what exactly it was that she was thinking about.

Phoebe missed her nephew dearly. She laughed to herself as her mind drifted back to the day that she first laid eyes on the young man. She was in the attic trying to fight off one of the Gods. Things weren't going to well then he appeared out of nowhere and saved her life. Even though she didn't trust him right away she was indeed grateful for the save although she never let him know it. And in return for the lovely gesture she hit on him, her own nephew.

She laughed out loud now as she remembered the look of shock and disgust on the boy's face as his nasty old aunty hit on him. It was the most comical thing she had ever witness now that she knew his true identity. The woman could only imagine what went through the boy's head at that moment. Then again there were other times that she wanted to strangle him. Not only because of his constant answer of "future consequences" but because of his smart-ass remarks. A trait that he no doubt inherited from his mother. She could also remember times that were no so great which caused on her face to fade.

How she wished that she could take back all the times that she and her sister had treated the boy badly. What they said to him and the way they acted towards the young man was down right brutal sometimes. Especially when Wyatt was taken by the Order. Chris tried so hard to do what was right for his brother and what did her get for all his trouble?

His own mother told him to go away and that she never wanted to see him again. Even though she didn't say anything her and the younger Halliwell sister was just as guilty for not sticking up for him. She began to cry harder as she remembered the hurt look on the boys face as he said sorry before orbing out. Her heart ached for the boy and the amount of pain that he felt when his own mother spoke those hateful words.

The tears flowed more heavily accompanied by small sharp intakes of breath which caused her body to jerk suddenly. Chris tried to wipe his aunt's tears away but realizing that he couldn't made the boy tear up once more.

"Damn it, how much more do you want me to take!" he screamed out in frustration. Then something strange happened. He felt as if he was becoming whole again.

"Oh what now?" he thought. He then heard someone calling his name.


	5. The End For Now

Chapter 5

"Chris, Chris. Com on baby wake up" The boy could barely make out what was being said, but he knew that it was his mother saying it. He fought hard to open his eyes several times as the voice became more panicked.

"CHRIS" his mother now screamed in his ear reminding him of when he used to give her a hard time about getting up for school.

As he slowly opened his he could see four shadow like figures standing around him. After a few minutes he was able to focus and everything around him became clear again. He was in the attic laying on the ground inside of a crystal cage. Studying those around him further he noticed that his mother was still pregnant. Then it hit him, he wasn't dead after all. In fact he had chosen to go on a vision quest to see if it would help him find out who was trying to turn his brother evil. He got more then he barged for. After everything he went through this past year the person who was after his brother was none other then his father's mentor and fellow Elder Gideon.

Not wanting to cause his family any more pain, he decided to keep the details of his vision quest to himself. His father was the first speak

"Hey kiddo. How are you feeling?" He felt bad about luring them into a false sense of security but he knew that it was for their own good. He smiled weakly before answering

"I'm find Dad. In fact it seems as if we're on the right track and the demon is within our reach"

"So, did you see who it is that's after Wyatt?" Paige asked her nephew.

"No, the face was a blur" he said rising to his feet. "But I have a feeling that everything's going to work o…" Before he could finish Leo blew some sort of sleeping dust into the boys face knocking him out instantly.

Catching him, the older man laid the sleep form down on the couch. What Chris didn't know was that the group knew that once the young witch found out the identity of the evil he would try to take care of it by himself. Something that could result in his death which was a risk that his family was not willing to take. So they cast a projection spell on the boy once he began his quest so they could see everything that he did. None of them were prepared for what they saw.

The boy's mother came close to stopping the quest on many different occasions only to be stopped by the group. Even though the scenes were hard to watch at times, they knew that the information was vital to the mission at hand. Piper now sat by her baby boys; side. As she touched the sleeping child's face she spoke

"Don't worry baby, its mama turn to protect you and I have no intention of failing. "And neither do I" the man said as he gave his son a kiss on the head much like he did in the boy's vision. The eeriness of it all sent chills down the spines of every one in the room.

"Ok" Phoebe spoke. It's time to kill the Elder"

The End

Be on the look out for the sequel "Getting Even"


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